ESPN rates Astros farm system No.1 a day after Porter says ‘future is mighty bright’

Astros top 10 prospects

The Astros’ farm system, which includes the first overall pick in the last two drafts, has been ranked the best in Major League Baseball by ESPN.com’s Keith Law.

According to multiple recent rankings, shortstop Carlos Correa, the first overall pick in the 2012 draft, is considered the Astros’ top prospect. Mark Appel, the first pick in the 2013 draft, and outfielder George Springer, who came close to hitting 40 home runs and stealing 40 bases in 2013, are the club’s two other prime prospects.

“They have depth and they have a couple of high-ceiling guys at the top of the system, getting close to the point where the light at the end of the tunnel no longer looks like an oncoming train,” Law wrote.

The Astros fortified the bullpen and signed free-agent righthander Scott Feldman to lead the rotation this winter, pushing the club toward respectability and buying some time until the premier prospects are ready to contribute in the majors.

The Astros were 51-111 in 2013, finishing with the worst record in baseball and the worst record in franchise history for the third consecutive year.

“We can definitely see the light,” Astros manager Bo Porter said Monday. “I think that as an organization we had to go through what we went through last year in order to move in a direction in which we’re moving to put together a consistent championship caliber team.

“The one mistake we did not want to make is misevaluating our own players. So we took some lumps to do that, but I believe that as you look forward to the future the core group that we’re moving forward with, the veterans that we were able to add to our roster this offseason and then you look at the next group, the next wave, of young players that are coming, you put those three things together and the future is mighty bright.”